The Most Dangerous Cities Faced By US Troops In Iraq Are Rapidly Falling Back Into Chaos

An Iraqi security officer walks in front of the coffin
of a soldier, who was killed during clashes in Ramadi, during a
funeral in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, December
28, 2013.REUTERS/Alaa
Al-Marjani

The two most dangerous cities U.S. troops faced in Iraq that were
largely pacified before the 2011 pullout are rapidly falling back
into chaos,
as radical Sunni militants have moved back in to retake
Fallujah and Ramadi, The New York Times reports.

The cities are both in Anbar province, a region where nearly
one-third of American troops died. Some of the heaviest fighting
of the Iraq war came in Anbar's capital Ramadi, and Fallujah,
which saw two major battles for control of the city in 2004.

From The Times:

Radical Sunni militants aligned with Al Qaeda threatened
Thursday to seize control of Falluja and Ramadi, two of the most
important cities in Iraq, setting fire to police stations,
freeing prisoners from jail and occupying mosques, as the
government rushed troop reinforcements to the areas.

Dressed in black and waving the flag of Al Qaeda, the
militants commandeered mosque loudspeakers to call for supporters
to join their struggle in both cities in the western province of
Anbar, which have increasingly become centers of Sunni extremism
since American forces
withdrew from the country at the end of
2011.

"Half of Fallujah is in the hands of ISIL (the Qaeda-linked
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) group, and the other half
is in the control of" armed tribesmen, an Iraq interior ministry
official
told AFP.

An exact number of casualties was unknown, although hospitals
reported 35 killed and more than 70 wounded, according to The
Times.

The uprising began after Shiite Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki ordered security forces to dismantle protest
encampments in the two cities, according to The Times. That move,
while seen as a victory for the prime minister, fueled the
insurgents and led to larger political fallout.